It Develops
by kitty KAT loves
Summary: They both hate each other and they're both total opposites. But what happens when they're paired up for a project that they must work on together? And when he learns something about her life that to horrible to bear? ChadxTaylor with minor Troyella.
1. Trailer

"**IT DEVELOPS..."**

**-----------------------**

**They're both total opposites. She's a math genius...**

_Shows Taylor explaining something to the students in the classroom_

**And he's a basketball junkie.**

_Shows Chad doing warm-ups before basketball practice, talking to Troy_

**They absolutely hate each other...**

_Shows both of them scowling at one another_

**And they got assigned to work together on a project.**

Mr. Levisk: Chad, Taylor since you're both late, you'll be working together.

Chad: With her?! Can't I work with Troy?

Taylor: Yeah! Anyone but him! _(points a finger at Chad without looking at him)_

Chad: Who says that I want to work with you?

Taylor: Who says that _I_ want to work with _you_.

**So they both promise each other that they won't fall for the other...**

Chad: First things first, I have no interest in you, so don't get any ideas.

Taylor: Ew! Who said that I would have any feelings toward you?

Chad: So, we won't fall in love with each other?

Taylor: It's agreed. No infatuation.

Chad: Infatu-what?

Taylor: Never mind.

**But that all changes when Chad learns something about Taylor's life...**

Mr. McKessie: What's this that I hear about your grade point average slipping?

Taylor: Dad, it's only .1. I could always bring it back up.

Mr. McKessie: Do you think Harvard wants GPA droppers? You don't think that Yale checks you high school records?

Taylor: I know Dad, but...

Mr. McKessie: You know the punishments of your actions. Now...

Taylor: No, Dad please. I bring it back up. I'll go even higher, work harder. _(falls to the floor on her knees, crying)_

_Outside the window_

Chad: Tay, no. (shuts his eyes. Sounds of a belt cracking could be heard)

**And Taylor's afraid to tell Gabriella.**

Gabriella: Taylor, where did you get that bruise from? Did someone hurt you at home?

Taylor: No, of course not. Where would you get that idea? I just hurt myself while...cleaning my closet out.

_Outside at Another Time_

Chad: Tay, are you okay?

Taylor: Tay? Since when did you call me that?

Chad: Never mind that. Are you okay?

Taylor: Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?

Chad: Are you being abused by your father?

Taylor: (shocked) No. Um... I've got to go. See ya... Around. _(leaves)_

**Does he develop feelings for the master of digits?**

Chad: Hey Tay, can I tell you something?

Taylor: Yeah, sure. As long as it doesn't interfere with our promise.

Chad: What promise?

Taylor: The promise that we won't fall for each other. I mean, we can be good friends.

Chad: Oh, that promise...

Taylor: What did you want to tell me? I've got to be somewhere for me in, like, a minute.

Chad: Oh, it's nothing. Just go ahead.

Taylor: You sure?

Chad: Yeah, I'm sure.

Taylor: Well, if you ever want to talk, I'm always here. _(smiles)_

Chad: I know.

Taylor: Okay, hope to see ya around.

Chad: Yeah, see ya.

Taylor: Alright... _(leaves)_

Chad: sad What I wanted to say was that...I love you Tay. _(sinks to the floor)_

**Does she return them?**

_Shows Taylor gazing dreamily at Chad_

Taylor: No, we promised each other, but what is there to not love about him.

_Chad turns around and smiles at her_

Taylor: His smile, his fun-loving personality, his eyes that are warm and inviting... How can I deny my feelings?

**Can they make this relationship work? Find out in "It Develops..."**

**COMING SOON AS A FANFICTION NEAR YOU!**


	2. Partners

Hey Everyone! This is my first Chaylor, which is the 2nd highest HSM couple I support. Anyway, I hope this chapter isn't too horrible. I always find that the first chapter for me is the hardest to write. Now that I'm finished babbling:

**CHAPTER ONE**

"_East High. A place full of barriers and walls, barriers that divide clique from clique, and walls that keep them caged within that group. It's also a place of rules, unwritten rules acting as an invisible police force for the popular kids of the school._

_Jocks are of the highest honor and the members of the Scholastic Decathlon were of the lowest. Drama club was just a step under the jocks and the rest of the cliques were filed somewhere in-between. It's an unwritten rule that a jock must a jock or someone near his or her rank. It's forbidden for a jock to date a math geek or chess-clubber or a science nerd._

_But that rule was broken as a pair of students unexpectedly started dating. Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez tore down these barriers and walls as they quickly befriended each other, soon their platonic friendship turning into something more. Yes, that's true and we already know this story. But this tale is about their best friends, who just can't seem to see past these barriers and still believe in these unwritten rules (with the exception of Troy and Gabriella)."_

_-zanessatroyellasupporter  
Kat_

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"Gabi! Can you just hurry it up a bit?" Taylor McKessie, head of the Scholastic Decathlon, pleaded.

"Just go ahead to Health class," Gabriella responded after a note fell out of her locker, "I'll be there in a little while."

"Okay, just don't be late. Mr. Levisk is assigning a project for partners and I wouldn't want you to get stuck with someone you wouldn't like."

"I'm sure I won't," Gabriella answered, her eyes moving quickly as she read.

Taylor looked at her watch. In a minute, the bell would ring and she had to run across the school to get to her class. "Gabi, the bell."

"Tay, just go ahead. I've got to go do something real quick," Gabriella said, folding up the note and sticking it between the pages of her notebook.

Without hesitation, Taylor sprinted down the hallway, flew down 2 flights of steps, and raced the remaining 5 seconds to reach the turn in the hallway.

"_Mr. Levisk always checks the hallway before closing the door. Yeah, if you arrive afer he closes the door, then you're late. Anytime before that is fine," _Taylor thought, pushing herself to reach the turn in the hallway.

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"Dude Troy, hurry up. We've gotta get to Health," Chad urgently said.

"Woah, Chad! I didn't know you were so eager," Troy joked, "For Health class. Is there someone you have your eye on? Like Taylor McKessie?"

"Ew...her? No way," Chad responded with a look of disgust, "No, it's because your dad's been on my case about my Health grade."

"You're failing _Health_?" Troy said, "That's one of the _easiest _classes in this whole school." He laughed, placing a couple of books on the top-shelf of his locker.

"Well, laugh all you want, but if you don't hurry up, you'll be short one team member in next week's game," Chad retorted with a worried look on his face as he leaned against the locker.

"Just go head. I've got something to do anyway."

"What do you have to do that's so important that you're going to be late for Health?" Chad asked, looking at the clock. 2 minutes before the bell would ring.

"What are you still doing here?" Troy closed his locker, placing his books on the floor.

Looking back at the clock, Chad debated whether to argue or race the second hand. Troy smiled, watching his best friend work the gears in his head.

"Well," Troy said, leaning against his locker, "What are you still doing here?"

Without looking back, Chad ran down the empty hallway, hoping he could make it within the last minute and a half.

---------------------------------

"Hey Troy. What did you need to talk to me about?" Gabriella called from the end of the hallway.

"Actually Darbus wanted to talk to us," Troy answered through his laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing," Troy said, catching his breath, "Now let's hurry and go see Ms. Darbus." Troy placed his arm around Gabriella's slender shoulders.

"Okay...Troy, you do know that Mr. Levisk is assigning a health project today?"

"Yeah. I know."

"Taylor said that it's a pairs project. Aren't you worried?"

"About what?"

"Getting paired with somebody you wouldn't like."

"Why?" Troy answered, pulling open the door of Ms. Darbus' room, "Mr. Levisk is pairing up people as they walk through the door. We're guaranteed to be to be paired up."

"Oh, good," Gabriella said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Come on," Troy grinned, closing the door behind them.

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"Ow!" Chad screamed as he collided head-on with Taylor when she reached the turn in the hallway. "Watch where you're going!"

Taylor didn't respond. She got up, scrambling to collect her scattered books in time.

Her mad efforts were futile. It was too late. The bell rang and Mr. Levisk slammed the door, the sound echoing down the hallway.

"I guess he's in a hurry today," Chad pondered, rushing to the door.

Not surprised that he didn't help her, Taylor grabbed her last notebook and arrived at the door behind Chad. He opened the door, the hinges squeaking loudly,

"Welcome to class, Mr. Danforth, Ms. McKessie. Take your seats," Mr. Levisk said.

Without looking up, Taylor slid into her seat in the front row. Chad, on the other hand, sat toward the back of the room and was greeted warmly by a group of friends.

"Before we were rudely interrupted," Mr. Levisk looked at Chad, "The project is about parenthood. Teen pregnancy numbers have risen in the past years, especially among high schools in urbanized areas."

Taylor pulled out her Health notebook and jotted down a couple of notes. She was the only one who was doing so.

"For this project, you will be working with your partner and take on the roles of parents... What is it Taylor?" Mr. Levisk asked as Taylor's hand was waving in the air.

"Did we already pick partners?"

"Actually, I assigned partners already."

"Well, who's mine?" Taylor asked, _"Please let it be Gabi. Please let it be Gabi."_

"I assigned partners as you walked through the door. So Chad, Taylor since you were both late, you'll be working together."

Chad, who was talking to Jason behind him, seemed to object to that idea. "With her?! Can't I work with Troy?"

"Yeah, anyone but him!" Taylor retaliated, pointing her finger at Chad without looking at him.

"Who says that I wanna work with you?"

"Who says that _I_ want to work with _you_?"

"Stop your childish bickering...Chad, Troy has neglected to show up for class..." Mr. Levisk stated, "Don't snicker Ms. McKessie. Life isn't fair. Just put aside your differences and learn to cooperate."

"But-"

"Not another word, Mr. Danforth. Any objections Ms. McKessie?" Mr. Levisk shot a glance at Taylor, who didn't meet his eyes.

"Well," he continued, "now that we've gotten that figured out, the project is on teenage parenthood. You and your partner will take on the roles of parents and..." he reached into a box, "take care of your own child."

"You mean we're going to take care of a real child?" Chad stupidly asked.

"No, you will be taking care of a baby simulator. This advanced piece of technology will act and react as a real infant. It will constantly be needed to be monitored. If it cries, you will need to calm it down. If it becomes restless, you must play with it."

"Play with a doll?!" Chad exclaimed.

"Yes. There's a sensitive chip within the simulator that will record this information. Your grade is entirely dependent on how well _you_ and _your partner_ work _together._" He cast a glance in Chad's and Taylor's direction. "You will pick up the baby simulator at the end of class. Now, with today's lesson..."

The door opened and in walked Troy and Gabriella, hand in hand.

"We're sorry Mr. Levisk, Ms. Darbus needed to speak with me and Gabriella," Troy explained, handing Mr. Levisk the note that Ms. Darbus gave him.

"Okay, just take a seat. You both are paired up with the project." Troy gave Gabriella a 'told-you-didn't-I' look, which caused her to giggle to herself.

"_She's so lucky,"_ Taylor thought to herself as Gabriella took her seat beside her, _"She got paired up with her boyfriend. And I got stuck with the real 'Lunkhead Basketball Boy' Chad Danforth."_

_------------------------------------_

What do you think? Please send in your reviews!

With much love,  
KAT


	3. Amazement

Hello my loyal, no not loyal, royal readers. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't writing up these stories. Anyway, I would like to take some time to tell about where I stand at my stories and at what other projects I've got going on.

With my stories, the ones I have out are the ones I'm solely going to focus on, but I have a Troyella that I'm writing in times when I'm stumped. It's based off a book called "Bound" and hopefully in about a couple weeks, it'll be coming out. This one is going to be slightly different than what I normally do. It's going to focus on the tradition of the Chinese culture of binding the girl's feet and how painful it is. Gabriella refuses to get them bound, so she is basically bound to be neglected and die alone, but what happens when a certain someone starts taking a liking to her? Well, like I've said, I hope to have this story out soon.

Some of you may have read my other story "How Can They Not Tell" right? Well, the sequel to that is coming out soon, just as soon as I finish the video sequel to it that I have on youtube. Oh, little advertising bit, I have a youtube account and if you want to check out some of my Troyella/Zanessa vids, check my profile, I'll have it up soon.

Last thing, I'm thinking of changing my penname into something a bit more original. So soon, my penname is going to be: kittyKAT. I'm just telling you all now, so you don't find a new chapter by this person and go 'Who the heck is this?'

Umm, I think that is everything, so on with the story!

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**CHAPTER TWO**

"Tay, what's your child's name?" Gabriella asked, rocking the doll in her arms. She loved the idea of being a parent one day and this was just her kind of project.

"I don't know," Taylor answered, glancing at the doll that was lying on the table, "My _partner_ and I haven't decided yet. And with the amount of brain cells he has, I don't think we'd ever be able to name it. Anyway, what's her name?"

"Katerina. It's such a lovely name. Troy picked it," Gabriella cuddled the baby closer into her arms, cooing at the sheer enjoyment she was getting out of being a mother.

Taylor rolled her eyes, but not at Gabriella, at the fact that her partner probably wouldn't put in as much effort as creating a name for their child. Looking at the toy lying on the table, face-down, she picked it up as it began crying.

"That's not Katerina, is it?" Troy cried, appearing instantly by Gabriella's side.

"No, it's our child," Taylor bitterly replied, "Troy, where's Chad?"

"Who's calling for me?" Chad paraded in, a cocky smile on his face and a childish gleam in his eyes.

"I did. Are you going to put your share in this project?" Taylor said, standing up and rocking up and down, trying anything to get the simulator to stop crying.

"Oh, it was you?" Chad took a seat next to Gabriella. He seemed more interested in her child than his own.

"Are you going to help me?" Taylor desperately pleaded, the doll crying louder than ever.

"Just give the thing to me," Chad flatly said, taking the weeping doll out of Taylor's hands. "Where's it's binky?"

"It's binky? I would've never thought of that!" Taylor scrambled through her purse, digging and digging until finally pulling out a light blue binky that had a piece of hair stuck to it. She quickly pulled it off and handed it to Chad. "Here!"

Chad kindly placed the binky into the baby's mouth and started cradling it in his arms, gently rocking it from side to side. Everyone stared at him, an astonished expression plastered on their faces. Chad nervously looked up because he could feel the eyes on him and meet all their looks.

"What? You've never seen somebody take care of a baby before? Why don't you all stare at Gabriella?" he said, pushing the toy back into Taylor's arms. He met all their glances, his wild hair flying as he quickly turned his head.

"How did you know how to do that?" Taylor spoke, breaking the few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"I've got a little cousin. He's still young and he comes over a lot. I help take care of him when my mom and my aunt go out on one of their shopping sprees," he looked around again, meeting more surprised looks, "What?! Can't a guy care for his cousin?"

The bell rung, signaling the end of the period. Troy and Gabriella swiftly left, heading to their free period musical practice, leaving Chad and Taylor alone. As Chad got up, Taylor stopped him.

"Listen you've got to give your share in this project!"

Chad looked at her, disgusted at the fact that she thought that he was going to do any work. "I already did my share. I just got the thing to shut up."

"This isn't a thing, Chad. It's our child, it's our project, it's our grade!" she yelled, trying to drill the information through the thick skull hidden under his bushy hair. "And we've got to do this for 3 weeks! I'm not doing this alone."

"Okay, okay...First things first, I have no interest in you, so don't get any ideas." Chad took a seat and looked up at her, taking the doll from her once again.

"Ew! Who said that I would have any feelings toward you?" Taylor responded with a wrinkled nose. The thought of her liking this lunkhead basketball boy made her shiver with disgust.

"So, we won't fall in love with each other?" he replied, gingerly taking the binky from the simulator and placing it on the table.

"It's agreed. No infatuation," Taylor answered, stuffing the binky back into her bag. She reached over and took the child from Chad's arms.

"Infatu-what?" Chad dumbfoundedly said, turning toward her.

"Never mind...so, what is his name?" Taylor questioned, tenderly cradling the baby in her arms.

"About Chad Jr.?"

"No way are we naming our child after you..." she answered, scoffing, "What about...Albert?"

"Albert? That's such a...nerd name. No way is my kid going to be named Albert."

"Well, come up with something better."

"Okay...okay...just give me a minute," Chad retorted, placing a finger on his chin.

Taylor silently giggled to herself. She could picture all the gears that were covered in cobwebs finally starting up again.

"You know, I like the name Corbin."

"Corbin?" Taylor said, taking it into consideration. "Corbin..." she looked at the baby, "Okay, I'll settle for Corbin."

"Cool! Now that we've got that over with, I'm going to get a bite to eat. Take care of our child," Chad said, slinging the backpack over his shoulder and walking out the doors. Taylor was going to object, but saw it pointless to do so.

"Oh, one more thing, I won't be here tomorrow, so keep my baby safe," Chad stated, poking his bushy haired head back in before slamming the door shut, the sound echoing throughout the entire room.

"_Yeah, I'll keep your baby safe for you for sure. It's all part of my grade,"_ Taylor thought, gathering her books that were scattered across the table and placing them into her messenger bag. _"And everyone knows how important grades are to me."_ She placed the bag over her left shoulder and carefully took the child into her right arm. With her heels clicking as she walked to the door, she took one last look at the time and pulled open the door, softly shutting it as the traveled down the hallway.

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Not much of a cliffie this time. But they'll be coming soon. I'm just letting you enjoy them while the non-cliffies last. Will Chad and Taylor ever sort things out and learn to cooperate? Find out in the next chapter!

With much love,  
KAT


	4. The Time of My Life

Now that I'm sitting in my room, I just realized that I don't have a life...ha,ha...

I spend the day yesterday uploading videos on youtube and organizing my brand spankin' new totally awesome freewebs site. Plus I wrote a couple more chapters for my published stories and worked on my new one that will be coming out soon as I have said before.

I think that's all to say for now, but keep in store for my random notes at the beginning and end of my chapters.

This chapter isn't really anything in particular but it does show the beginning of Chad's feelings for Taylor. It also introduces the somebody who is looming in the background of Taylor's life.

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**CHAPTER THREE**

The sunshine beating down on the school, Taylor walked to school, balancing her backpack, her purse, and Corbin amongst her two hands. Her heels clicked loudly as she rushed up to the doors of East High. She opened the door and ran over to her locker and cradling the baby in the crook of her arm, she twirled in her combination and pulled the door, almost yanking it off it's hinges.

"Geez Taylor, what's the hurry today?" Gabriella asked, adjusting the strap of her backpack.

"This darn baby keep me up all night and wouldn't stop crying. It drove my mom and dad up the wall and frankly, I wanted to pull my hair out. I didn't even have time to do my hair or make-up." Taylor thrust the doll into Gabriella's arms, "Hold this," and shifted some things in her locker. She pulled out a make-up bag, comb, and hair clips. "Where's Katerina? With Troy, I suppose." She started to run the comb through her hair with one hand and started to apply mascara with the other.

"Yeah, he wanted to share the responsibilities," Gabriella answered. She looked at her best friend. How could she do all this at once and in five minutes? It always took her at least half an hour to get her hair the way she wanted it. Troy always said that she wasted too much time and that she didn't need make-up, but she never listened.

"I wish Chad would at least put in an effort to do something," Taylor stated, putting down the brush and with two hands, clipped her bangs up out of her eyes.

Gabriella didn't know what to say. She was just lucky that she got an amazing boyfriend like Troy Bolton. Maybe Taylor could learn to cooperate with Chad...in time.

"I mean really," she looked at her profile in the reflection in the mirror, "he could've at least spend some time with Corbin yesterday instead of dumping him on me. What kind of a father does that?" She threw everything back in her locker and closed it. She already had her school books with her.

"At least you named him...that's gotta count for something, doesn't it?" Gabriella returned Corbin back to Taylor.

"Yeah, it means that maybe I won't get an F-, I'll probably just be lucky to get a C!" Taylor threw her arms up in exasperation. "But I can't get a C, because if I do, he'll...he'll..."

"He'll what? Who are you talking about?"

"Never mind. Never mind that I said anything. Look at the time," she looked at the digital read-out on her wristwatch, "I've got to head to Advanced Lit. I'll see you at lunch Gabi," Taylor picked up her backpack and started toward the east wing of the school.

"I'll see you at lunch then. See ya!" Gabriella called after her friend. _"What's up with her? It's not like her to keep secrets from me. I wonder who this 'he' is and what he'll do to her?"_

"Gabi, you ready to go see Darbus again?" Troy had suddenly appeared out of nowhere again, cradling their child in his left arm.

"How do you do that?" Gabriella put her hand over her speeding heart.

"Do what?"

"Suddenly appear out of nowhere," Gabriella and Troy chuckled, "Well, anyway, yeah I'm ready."

---------------------------------

Taylor arrived to her Lit class with plenty of time to spare, so she thought that she's get a start on her Calculus work. Pulling out her pencil and paper, she started by writing her name at the top, then teachers, then subject, and then date. She had always written things in that format ever since middle school. Teachers always praised her for the neatness that she had always wrote. So did her father and she always made sure that it always pleased her father.

"Ms. McKessie, what are you doing here?" asked Mathew, one of her friends on the math club.

"Hey Matt," she answered, looking up, "Just doing some Calc work. Want to have a jump start so I have time to take care of the..."

And on cue, the doll started crying. Taylor threw down her pencil and picked up the doll, standing up and bouncing on the balls of her feet. The baby started to quiet down and she took her seat again, cuddling it in both arms.

"I'll have time to take care of the baby. Can you believe that Mr. Levisk paired me up with Chad Danforth? The true lunkhead basketball boy." She looked around for her pencil, which ended up flying of the desk.

"Tough luck. Well, are we going to meet up this afternoon in the chem lab?"

"Yeah, sure," Taylor picked up her pencil, "Wait, why are we meeting in the chem lab? Why don't we meet in the back of Ms. Darbus's room?"

"Ms. Darbus told us that we have to go somewhere else. I guess that she's doing something important in there right now. So, the only room we could get was the chem room."

"Alright, so we're all meeting in the chem room." She opened her Calc book and flipped to the page she knew where she would have homework.

Just then, the bell rang. The class filled with students and the teacher patrolled in, carrying her briefcase and coffee. She slammed case on the floor and placed her coffee on the edge of the desk. "Put away the homework, Ms. McKessie, or I'll confiscate it."

Not wanting that to happen, Taylor folded the paper in half, stuffed it in the book, shut it, and quickly pushed it underneath her chair. At that moment, Corbin started crying again. Frantically, she dug through her purse for the binky and stuffed it in the baby's mouth.

"Ms. McKessie, I warn you now to keep that thing quiet. I will not have it interrupting my class," Ms. Owen said, pointing the chalk she was using in her direction.

Taylor didn't respond. She just hoped that for the rest of the class, the doll would remain quiet and calm. _"I hope that Chad's having the time of his life right now, because he's getting Corbin tomorrow!"_

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Chad walked into the doors of East High and traveled through the empty halls with a backpack slung over his shoulder and basketball in hand.

"Great!" he whispered to himself and hearing it echo down the hallway, "I'm back in here again. Why didn't my parents just let me off?" He headed to the office to let the school know that he had arrived and then off to his first class.

Along the way, he passed Taylor's Advanced Lit. Class and heard the baby crying. He glanced in and saw Taylor place the binky in Corbin's mouth. He smiled, looking upon her and seeing how hard she was trying to keep it quiet. Then he heard Ms. Owens scold her and that's snapped him out of it. _"She's a math nerd. I'm not supposed to like her in any, ANY way."_ Chad turned away and continued down the hall, pushing away feelings that he could be feeling for Taylor.

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Who is this someone who Taylor's afraid of? And is that a gentle side to Chad? Will his feelings develop into something more? Stay tuned for the next chapter!

With much love,  
KAT


	5. It Can't Be True

Okay, I know I haven't updated in like the longest time, but I've been really busy with an new exercise routine that basically exhaust me every morning and I've also been spending a lot of time outdoors. But now I'm getting back into the swing of things again.

I'm really beginning to get into this story. I mean, yeah I came up with the idea but now I'm starting to really understand how I want it to go. Really stupid sounding isn't it. But, keep an eye out on these notes in a future chapter. I might be able to make a trailer for this fanfic to attract more readers and possibly let you see what I'm trying to get at.

One more thing. Raido Disney says that they are premiering a brand new HSM2 song on the radio this Friday. It is Troy's song "Bet On It" I believe the rest of the wildcats sing in this one. I'll try to find a high quality raido rip of it for you guys.

Now that I'm done, let's get on with the story. What have Gabriella and Troy been up to with Ms. Darbus? Will Taylor be able to stand their child anymore? And does Chad have a soft side or is he rotten to the core? Well, let's find out...

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**CHAPTER FOUR**

After the most torturous class of the morning, Taylor, with Corbin cradled in her left hand, walked to her locker and stuffed everything in it. She was just about to toss Corbin in there when she realized that she was letting her anger get the best of her. "Come on Taylor, you just need to breathe," she took a deep breath, letting all the stress out, "Yeah, now I feel better," she looked around, "Where's Gabriella?"

The bell rung again for third mod to start, but Taylor, Gabriella, and Troy had lunch first slot. Taylor waited a few minutes, hoping that Gabriella would turn up, but she was a no show.

"Where could she be?" Taylor asked, speaking to no one in particular. Tired of waiting, she walked down the hall, toward Gabriella's locker.

---------------------------------

Troy and Gabriella walked out of Ms. Darbus's room again for the second time that day. Ms. Darbus had asked Troy and Gabriella to help her with a project she had been working on. She asked the principal of the school to allow her to train a group of students to perform at the next school dance. Naturally, after winning the roles of Arnold and Minnie, she picked Troy and Gabriella to work together on a duet piece of their choice.

First they stopped at Troy's locker and he crammed all his books into his mess of a locker. Then they went to Gabriella's locker.

"I think things are going well," Troy stated, wrapping his arm around Gabriella's waist.

"Yeah, except for the fact that we can decide on a song," Gabriella pointed out, playfully cooing at their child.

"Maybe we should dedicate it to somebody? Like our friends?"

"That would be a great idea Troy, except for the fact that our friends have nothing in common. Face it; the school really doesn't want us together. Taylor approves of you...but just barely," she stated, handing Katerina to Troy and placing her books into her locker.

"I know what you mean. Chad says that I'm better off with Sharpay," Troy shuddered, "But I wouldn't want to date Sharpay. The thought of that sends chills up my spine. Beside, you're the only one that I want to see," Troy answered as Gabriella closed her locker.

"Same here Troy. I don't really care what the school says, but sometimes it just...gets the better of me," she took Katerina out of Troy's hands and leaned against her locker.

"Well, you shouldn't let it. Because I love you Gabi," Troy replied, his one arm propped against Gabriella's locker.

"I love you too Troy, but sometimes I hear all the things that the..." her words were cut off by Troy's lips.

"A-hem!" Taylor cleared her throat, causing the two to separate. "So that's what you were too busy doing, Gabi, to remember about lunch."

"Tay! I'm so sorry! He started it! He came onto me!"

"Hey!" Troy exclaimed.

"Save it Gabriella. This is what dating a jock does to you. You begin to forget about things like your friends. Have fun making out! I'm going to lunch!" She made a sharp turn on her heels and angrily walked down the hallway, leaving a distressed Gabriella and a confused Troy behind.

--------------------------------

Sitting at the table alone, Taylor ate her lunch (celery sticks and peanut butter with a yogurt for dessert). Corbin had the binky in his mouth, so Taylor wasn't worried that he would start crying. Furious, she chomped on her food noisily.

_"Wait, what am I so angry about? Gabriella just kissed her boyfriend. It's not a crime to do that...maybe I'm flying off the handle just a little bit. Or maybe it's because she has a partner who's willing to put in his half of the project and I'm just jealous? Jealous of what? Troy...nah. Maybe it's because I got stuck with Chad...that's probably it."_

Taylor suddenly felt sorry that she had snapped at Gabriella. She pushed away her lunch, not feeling hungry anymore.

-------------------------------

Meanwhile, Chad has wondered into the lunchroom looking for Troy. But luck wasn't on his side today because Troy wasn't to be seen in the cafeteria. He looked around and saw Taylor sitting alone. He chuckled to himself, walking that way to taunt her about sitting alone. As he approached her, he saw that she was upset and thoughts of taunting her were shoved aside.

"Hey Taylor, are you okay?" he asked, taking a seat opposite her, "You seem a little troubled."

"What's it to you?" Taylor snapped, picking up Corbin, "Why are you here? I thought you weren't going to be here today."

"Well, my parent's forced me to come today instead of letting me go to my grandparent's house. I was supposed to visit them today, but they said that I should head to school...and here I am. Anyway, that's beside the point...is something on your mind?"

"No...yes, there is," Taylor responded.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Chad asked, forgetting about his lunch.

"Well, I kinda just snapped at Gabi for kissing Troy. I know I shouldn't have flown off the handle like I did, but lately Gabriella's been so busy with Troy that she hasn't been spending anytime with me," Taylor answered, tickling the baby under his chin.

"I know what you mean. Troy's been missing out on our one-on-ones. He's been getting really close to Gabriella lately, hasn't he?" Chad replied, taking a seat closer to Taylor.

"Yeah, it seems like they're really in love," Taylor said.

"I wouldn't say that they're in love. I think Troy's just a little delusional. He shouldn't be hanging with someone like Gabriella. She's going to drag him down along with her," Chad retorted.

"What's wrong with Gabriella? She's my friend you know...even if she isn't acting like one right now. Besides, her dating Troy is seriously putting her mind in the gutters. She barely says more than 5 words to me anymore!"

"Maybe we should show them that they're not right for each other...maybe break them up?" he stated mischievously, rubbing his palms together.

"Or we should let them see that they are wrong for each other. It wouldn't be right to pull them apart. Besides, they're going to find out that we were behind it," Taylor retaliated.

"Geez Taylor, chill...I wasn't going to actually do it. Troy's my best bud and I wouldn't want him to miss out on happiness...if they are serious about it," Chad considerately said.

_"Wow, those are some deep words...coming from Chad,"_ Taylor ruminated, seeing his playful smile and the childish gleam in his eyes.

"Hey, since you had to deal wit' the kid this morning, how about I take him for the rest of the afternoon and tomorrow?" Chad reached over and took Corbin from Taylor's hands, shocking her even more.

"Chad, are you feeling alright? Yesterday, you didn't even want to touch the kid and now you're offering to take care of him," Taylor inquired.

"Look, I saw that you had a tough time with him this morning and thought it over. You didn't deserve for Ms. Owen to yell at you," Chad replied tenderly.

Taylor observed, awestruck and dumbfounded. She was at a lost for words. Chad Danforth, the same Chad Danforth who used to walk by her table and taunt her, the same Chad Danforth who would intentionally make fun of her whenever she walked by, the same Chad Danforth who throw spitballs at her in Health class, was being considerate of her.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Chad exclaimed, "It makes me nervous."

Taylor shook off the astonishment. "I'm sorry, but it's just that...it's a miracle."

"What's a miracle?" Troy asked, walking up to the table with an empty lunch tray in hand. A teary-eyed Gabriella stood beside him, not making eye-contact with Taylor.

"Taylor, I'm sorry if I upset you..." Gabriella started.

"Gabi, this isn't your fault. It's mine. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I guess I was just a little frustrated with Corbin keeping me up all night. Can you forgive me?" Taylor pleaded.

Gabriella smiled. "Yeah, Tay, I forgive you," they hugged each other, "Now tell me, was that a tender moment between you and Chad?"

"What?!" both Chad and Taylor shouted at the same time.

"You heard what I said Tay. Was that a nice friend moment between the both of you?" Gabriella smiled.

"Friend moment...maybe. Tender...no way!" Chad answered, wrinkling his nose at that thought.

"Well, anyway, Chad do you want to go play a one-on-one for old time's sake?" Troy offered.

"Absolutely!" he yelled and threw Corbin back at Taylor, forgetting about what he had just said.

_"I knew that it was too good to be true,"_ Taylor thought. "I guess it's back to me taking care of our baby."

"Did you have lunch?" Gabriella asked, seeing the food still on the table.

"Yeah, I was just not hungry today," Taylor answered.

"Do you wanna go watch them play? We have at least another 15 minutes," Gabriella asked hopefully.

"Nah, I'd rather head to the library and get some studying in."

"Well, I'm going to go watch Troy beat the socks of Chad," Gabriella said. She got up and scurried out the cafe, leaving Taylor alone with Corbin.

"Like Chad would let Troy beat him. Chad's going to cream Troy with the skills he's got," Taylor just realized what she was saying, "What did I just say? I guess I need to go to the library now!"

---------------------------------------------------

Many of you asked to see Chad's soft side and there is was. It seems that Taylor can do that to him. Maybe he should hang out with Taylor a lot more often. Will Chad have anymore surprises in store for Taylor? Find out in the next chapter!

With much love,  
KAT


	6. He's a Complicated Person

Hey Everyone!

I don't have much to say. It's pretty late for me right now. I was planning to do this when someone would be awake, but since tomorrow is the 4th of July, I'd be really busy. This is probably one of my best chapters thus far. But that's just my opinion.

Okay on with the story! What happens when Taylor starts to think differently about Chad? Will things begin to take off for her? Or just push her farther away from Chad? Let's find out...

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Taylor walked into the library and settled into a chair at a table by the window. She propped Corbin up against the window and placed the binky in his mouth. She didn't need Ms. Fallstaff kicking her out of the library because her homework started crying. Besides, she had a lot of work to catch up on and her father started nagging her about college.

"Now, please be quiet," Taylor asked the doll, "Be a good baby for mommy, okay?"

She opened her calc textbook, looked at the equations that she had to do, and closed the book. With only ten minutes left, there was no way that she could focus on her work. Pulling out her Lit. book, she opened to Odyssey, the new section they were working on. She took a look at the first line and closed the book. She just couldn't seem to focus. Surprisingly, all her thoughts drifted back to her and Chad sitting at the lunch table. The side of Chad she had never seen before, a side that she wish she could've seen more.

"You know, Corbin," she said to the baby, "You're dad's a very complex person. He can be a jerk sometimes, like all the mean things he does to me, and then he could be...more human. Like at lunch today, he actually came over to the table and asked if I was okay. That was a shock to me. But then he goes back to being the jerk again."

Propping herself against the window, Taylor pondered whether she had seen that side to Chad before today. Suddenly, she thought of his smile and that childish gleam that was in his eyes when he was talking to her. He seemed so...attractive when he was like that. Unconsciously, she wrote down this list on the paper cover of her Lit. book.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...Tay, get yourself together," she pushed the book off onto the window sill, "Chad is a jock. You can't like a jock...even if he has the most amazing smile in the world," she added wistfully.

Looking at the clock, she assessed that she had about 8 more minutes left before her lunch period ended. She could've dropped by the gym and watched a little bit of Chad and Troy's game. It wouldn't hurt to take a break from her work.

"What do you think Corbin? Do you want to go watch your dad play basketball?" Taylor looked at the doll. "What am I doing? I am taking this project way too seriously. It's just a doll for goodness sake."

She laughed at herself while gathering her things and placing them in her bag. Lastly, she swept up Corbin in her arm and walked out of the library. Her Lit. book was left behind, still sitting on the window sill, with her list on the front cover.

--------------------------------

"Go Troy!" Gabriella called from the sidelines as Taylor ventured into the gym. Troy turned to give Gabriella a wave and Chad took this opportunity to steal the ball from him. Taylor took a seat by the gym entrance. She really didn't want to be seen by anyone and thankfully nobody noticed her.

She watched as Chad took the ball from Troy's hand and dribbled it down the court. He had pulled his hair back out of his face, which made his highly defined cheek bones even more noticeable.

Troy turned his attention back to the game and hurried behind Chad, trying to get the ball back from him. Quickly, Chad stopped, aimed his shot, and launched the ball into the air. He watched as the net _swished_ when the ball went in.

"Look who won this time!" Chad gloated, letting his hair fly loose again.

"I was distracted," Troy whined.

"What's that to mean? You were the one who decided to wave to me!" Gabriella shouted, giving Troy a slap on the shoulder.

"Gabi, I'm kidding," he gave Gabriella a hug, "Good game Chad. You really put up a good fight this time."

"That's all I get? No congrats? What about you Gabriella?"

"Nice game. It was really close."

"Is no one getting what I'm saying?" Chad threw his arms up in frustration, "What about you, Taylor? Why have you been so quiet?"

"What?" Taylor was in the memory from earlier when Chad called her name. "How did you know that I was in here?"

"I saw you walk in and quietly close the door. Anyway, do you have any words of encouragement?"

"Yeah, sure...Go Chad?" she said questionably, wondering if that was the answer he was looking for.

Chad laughed at the perplexed look on Taylor's face. He went over to her and took Corbin from her hands. "What did you think of Daddy's game?" he said in a kiddish tone.

Ever since that day Mr. Levisk paired them up together, Chad continued to amaze Taylor. Over the course of two days, he has shown her a totally different side to him...a gentler side. But of course, he hides it with the jerky side.

"Anyway, what brings you here?" Chad asked her. Troy and Gabriella had disappeared somewhere, probably left the gym to have some time to themselves.

"I couldn't focus on my work...and Gabi told me that you guys were in here. So, I decided why not come here till the bell rings," Taylor explained.

"Oh...anyway, I'm sorry I forgot the kid. I guess I kinda got excited with playing a one-on-one after so long," Chad pulled the binky out of Corbin's mouth, "You're right, Gabriella isn't bad. She's actually a great person to talk to. I can see why Troy choose her."

_"I'm still not so crazy with Gabriella going out with Troy. She didn't even say anything while I was here."_ Taylor looked at the gym door, "I'm glad you feel that way." She walked over to the bleachers and retrieved her bag, looking in it to make sure that everything was in there.

Chad looked on, still holding the baby in one hand and the baby in the other. _"She seems distracted today. I wonder why."_

"Oh...no...it's not in here!" Taylor started shoving things aside in her bags.

"What's wrong?"

"My Lit. book! It's not here! I need that for tonight. Ms. Owen is making us read Odyssey as our assignment tonight. I must have left it in the library."

"I could get it for you," Chad stated.

"You could?" Taylor turned around and looked skeptically at him.

"I've got to head to the library when the bell rings anyway. Something about doing research for my Social Studies project."

"Thanks Chad. I must have left it by the window behind the bookcases. That's where I was sitting."

"Okay, I'll just give it to you in Health class later today. Good with you?"

"That's good with me. Thank you so much!" Taylor gave him a hug around his neck. Chad looked at her in shock. Never had a girl made this much contact with him. They always told him that he came off as a self-centered snob, but he only came off that way because he was afraid of what they would think of him.

"Umm...Taylor...you're touching me."

Taylor pulled back quickly. "I'm sorry. I guess I got a little carried away," she answered, blushing.

The bell rang and Chad and Taylor had to go their separate ways. Taylor grabbed her bag and briskly walked out of the gym to her Calc. class. Chad took his time walking out, holding the baby in his hands, and thinking about what Taylor just did.

-----------------------------------

As she made her way to her next class, Taylor scolded herself. "Why did you do that, Taylor? Like I said before, he's a jock. You cannot like him in anyway. Unless you want to end up like Gabriella," she turned the corner. "I mean seriously, even if I did like him, which I don't, he isn't interested in anyone like me. He probably has a line of rich snobby girls lined up outside his house, waiting for him to break their hearts. But who can blame them? He's really...different than most jocks." Taylor walked into her Calc. class and took her seat by the front.

"Ms. McKessie, can you pass these papers out?" the teacher asked.

"Sure, I'll be glad to." Taylor got up and took the stack of papers from his hands. She started placing them on each student's desk and continued scolding herself. When she reached the end of the pile, she remembered something, something that could possibly ruin her.

"I wrote some stuff on the cover of my Lit. book. Some things about Chad. Did I write his name on it? What if he finds it?" She started to freak out, worrying whether she wrote Chad's name on that list or not.

As she took her seat, she put her hand in the air.

"Yes, Taylor?" the teacher asked.

"Can I be excused? I really need to...head to the bathroom," Taylor lied, which she had never done before.

"No, we're in the middle of something extremely important right now. You should've gone while you were at lunch."

With this answer, Taylor was really beginning to become worried. How long would it be until Chad found her list on her book? And worst of all, did she write his name on it?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What happens when Chad find the book? Did Taylor write his name on it? Find out in the next chapter!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With much love,  
KAT


	7. Why?

Me be really sorry. Sorry for the bad grammer, I just felt like I had to be an idiot for a second. I know that I've been really slow with my updating and it's summer. I apologize now.

But, I've figured out how to keep you guys updated without updating. On my freewebs, I'll be posting a sneak peek into the next chapter. I'll try to do that about a day or so after my last update. I will also post a sneak peek into the next video.

Okay, on with the story...

---------------------------------------------------

**CHAPTER SIX**

With Corbin in his hands and his bag slung over one shoulder, Chad wondered into the library, his head filled with questions. He knew why he was at the library - to do some research and retrieve Taylor's Lit. book - but he couldn't focus. Except only on the question of why Taylor had hugged him. And why he pushed her away.

"Mr. Danforth," called Mrs. Fallstaff, "I don't want any of your shenanigans. Get to work and keep quiet." She always had been on look-out for him ever since he arrived at East High. So what if he liked to play a few jokes every now and then? It didn't mean that he couldn't keep quiet.

"Of course, Mrs. Fallstaff," Chad answered, placing the binky in Corbin's mouth.

Chad made his way to the back of the library and headed toward the windows. The sun was faint in the sky behind the gray clouds. He took a seat by the windows, just a few tables down where Taylor had been minutes earlier. Dumping his bag on the table, Chad got up and went over to the history section and searched the titles for something useful.

Pulling out an encyclopedia on American inventors, he sat back down and pulled out a pencil and paper, intending to write notes. But instead, he sat back and closed his eyes, letting his mind wonder onto whatever topic he could pull out of the air.

He looked at Corbin, the only thing that was really tying him to Taylor. It's was strange to him how whenever he thought of his kid, he thought of the girl that he'd always made fun of. But now that he thought about it, the only reason he teased her was because she was part of the Scholastic Decathlon, Honor's Society, Pro Languages, and the Math Club.

"You know Corbin," Chad said quietly in fear of Mrs. Fallstaff walking by, "A lot of strange things are happening to me right now. First it's Taylor, then it's you, and now it's this. Me sitting in a library, thinking about her.

"It's strange...I'd never think that I'd ever see her in any other light than as the nerdy math geek. That's changed now...or at least I think it's changed." Chad leaned back so now the chair was balancing on its two hind legs. "She's not like other girls, she's different. Sure, she may be a math nerd, but she's the only girl in this school whose actually ever hugged me. She's the only person who I actually offered to do something for. Speaking of that...I'd better find her book now before I forget about it."

Chad stood up, brushing out the imaginary wrinkles in his pants. He spotted the book a couple tables down from him. He absent-mindedly picked it up the book, not noticing the writing on the cover. Sitting back down, he placed the book down.

Troy walked into the library, intending to get caught up with some homework that he missed. He saw Chad out of the corner of his eye and walked over to sit with his best friend. "Hey Chad. I never thought that I'd find you in here."

"I never thought that I'd ever be in here either," Chad replied. They did their secret handshake, which involved a high five, patting each other on the shoulder, bumping each other on the elbow, and ending with a fist pound. "What are you doing in here?"

"Catching up on homework," Troy answered. "What about you?"

"Doing some research for my Social Studies project," Chad looked down at his notes or rather, the paper that lacked notes, "but I'm not having any luck. I just can't remember with inventor invented what."

"Why don't you get some help from your partner?"

"Taylor? Why?"

"Never mind," Troy looked over the table, "Is this yours?" he asked, picking up Taylor's Lit. book.

"Nah, that's Taylor's. I offered to pick it up for her."

"You offered to do a favor for Taylor...Taylor McKessie?" Troy looked at him in wonder. "The person who you didn't even want to be in the same room with...that Taylor McKessie?"

"Lay off it Troy. It's not like I like her or anything - because I don't. She was just freakin' out about losing her book in the library and I was goin' to be here anyway, so why not just pick it up for her?"

"I guess it doesn't matter anyway. It seems that Taylor has eyes for someone else."

"What do you mean?"

"It says so right here...on the cover. Complex person...blah, blah, blah...a big jerk, but can be more human...blah, blah, blah...attractive...wish I could see more of that in him," Troy answered, reading Taylor's handwriting on the cover.

"Let me see," Chad commanded, snatching the book out of Troy's hand. He read the cover and Troy was right. From this, it seemed that Taylor liked someone else. He felt a tiny string pull at his heart. Putting the book down, Chad stood up, taking Corbin with him.

"Chad, where are ya goin'?" Troy questioned, seeing the look on his face change from joyfulness to slight apprehensiveness.

"I'm just goin' for a...walk. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Listen, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Chad answered unconvincingly. He gathered the rest of his stuff and Taylor's Lit. book and walked away. Troy watched as his friend slowly made his way out of the library, wondering what was on his mind.

"Maybe Gabi's right. Maybe Chad's developing a soft side for Taylor. I guess hope she does for him," Troy whispered to himself. He turned his attention back to his homework.

--------------------------

Chad walked out of the library and walked out to the courtyard. It was a nice sunny day and the breeze was gentle. He took a seat on the bench. Looking around, he saw Taylor in her Calc. class. Apparently she saw him too because she gave him a small wave before she returned to her work.

Chad looked at her before returning his mind to why he left the library. He didn't like Taylor, but reading those notes pulled at his heart for some strange reason.

But why did he care if she liked someone else? Taylor is a nerd, a geek and he should have nothing to do with her. He's an athlete and she's a bookie. She can date whomever she wants and he shouldn't have to worry about it.

But why is it that he does? Why does he care that Taylor has feelings for someone else? Why does something pull at his heart every time he thinks about it? Why is he dwelling on this?

Chad looked at the doll he had in his hands.

"That's it! It's all because of you!" Chad exclaimed, talking to the baby, "You came into my life and messed up everything. You were the thing that changed everything. You were the thing that got me paired up with her. You are the reason for all of this." He looked down at the doll. "That's it. I'm through with taking care of you. Maybe my life would go back to normal if you left it."

Fully convinced that he solved his problem, Chad packed up his things and walked back into the library, only to find that Troy had left. He looked up at the clock. The bell was about to ring. Walking back out and heading toward Health, there was something in the back of his head telling him that he hadn't fully solved the problem, but he pushed those thoughts away.

---------------------------

The bell rang and Taylor zipped out of the class and rushed over to Health, praying that she had not written his name on that list or that he didn't read it. She didn't even know why she wrote those things. She was pretty sure that she wasn't into Chad...no, she was positive that she wasn't into Chad. Besides, they're from two totally separate social classes. He's a jock and she's an academic. They are meant to stay clear of each other and never mingle.

She named each person as they walked in.

Jason...

Gabi and Troy...

Raven...

Adam...

Kelsi...

There were only a few seconds left before the bell was going to ring and she knew that Chad was still in school. She had just waved to him a couple of minutes ago. That was another thing. Why did she do that? They agreed that they would just get along for the project and nothing more. After this, they were going back to the old days where they barely made any contact except for when Chad walked by and made fun of her.

"Why would I want things to return to that?"

"Want things to return to what?"

Taylor looked up, it was Chad. "Nothing...nothing. Did you get my Lit. book?"

"Yeah, here you go," Chad answered, forcing a smile to hide that fact that he was a little bit disappointed.

"Thanks a lot Chad. You're a life-saver." Taylor immediately grabbed an eraser and started attacking the cover, trying to get rid of the evidence. She looked up at Chad and smiled nervously. "You don't really need to know. You didn't read it, did you?"

"I'd like to say I didn't, but I did," Chad answered in a monotone voice.

_"Just great. Sine I started erasing it, I can't tell if I wrote his name on it or not. I could ask him, but if his name wasn't on it, it might raise suspicions."_ Taylor looked down at the cover, trying to decipher whether she wrote his name on it or not.

"Can I ask you something?" Chad inquired.

"Yeah, sure," she replied slowly, "What?"

"Who were you writing about?"

"Writing? What do you mean?"

"On the cover. There was some writing about someone. Who's it about?"

_"I guess I didn't write his name on there, but now how do I answer his question?"_ Taylor thought quickly, trying to pull an answer from thin air. "Someone, just someone."

"Do I know this someone?" Chad asked. _"Why do I care? I shouldn't be caring about this!"_

"Yeah, I'd say you know this someone very well," Taylor answered, trying to not to give too much or too little.

"Do you like him?" Chad had no control of himself. He was just asking these questions for some reason beyond his control.

"Ohh...about that..." Taylor started, "I..."

----------------------------------------------------------------

How is Taylor going to get herself out of this one? Why do they keep denying feelings for each other? Find out in the next chapter!

With much love,  
Kat


	8. Because of This

Okay, I've got nothing much to say, but the fact that I don't own HSM (I wish I did).

* * *

_Quickie recap!_

_"Yeah, I'd say you know this someone very well," Taylor answered, trying to not to give too much or too little._

_"Do you like him?" Chad had no control of himself. He was just asking these questions for some reason beyond his control._

_"Ohh...about that..." Taylor started, "I..."_

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

"Yeah, about that," Chad urged on, leaning forward over the desk, tightening the gap between them.

_"Did he have to come any closer? He's making it so hard the think."_ Taylor found it hard to focus on anything, except for the serious expression in his eyes. _"Why does he care so much?"_

Chad waved his hand in front of Taylor's frozen face. "Yoo-hoo. You still here Taylor?"

She snapped back into reality. "What?"

"Are you trying to avoid something?" Chad eyed her suspiciously.

"No, no. It's just that..."

The school bell rung and Mr. Levisk strolled into the room, whistling. "Looks like everyone is here today. That means the class will receive a surprise today!"

All the eyes lit up in the room and a smile spread across each student's face.

"And your surprise is a...unexpected baby inspection!"

Every student groaned. This wasn't the surprise they were expecting.

"What's with all the complaining? I for one think that this is a wonderful surprise," he paused, "but then again, I'm not the one that's getting graded on how I take care of a toy. Now everyone, get out your children. I'll record the data and tell you how you're doing so far."

Mr. Levisk walked back to the front of the room and sat down at his desk, searching through his drawers for something. Taylor turned to Chad and asked "Where's Corbin?"

"Corbin?" Chad looked at Taylor questioningly. "Oh, Corbin, the kid." Chad turned around and pulled Corbin out of his bag. "Here he is."

Taylor stared at him, dumbfounded at the thought of why he would place a baby in a bag. "Unorthodox method of carrying the baby with you but I won't argue."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Well," Chad said, suddenly turning bitter, "Here's the kid." He tossed Corbin at her and turned to talk to Jason who was sitting next to him.

_"What's wrong with him? He's suddenly changed. I thought that we were just becoming friends."_ She looked at him, wondering what had suddenly changed him.

Mr. Levisk made his way around the class, taking the baby from each pair and placing them in the box. "Take a couple minutes to chat while I collect the data. After that, you'll get your child back and a progress report. Now..." He had lost the class's attention after 'a couple minutes to chat'. He let out a sigh and returned to his desk.

Taylor turned around to find that Gabriella was talking with Troy on who-knows-what. And Chad was too busy to talk to her, not like he wanted her to. Or did she?

"I definitely don't like him," she declared, just loud enough for Chad to catch it.

"Don't like who?" Chad whipped around.

_"Maybe if I told him that I didn't like him, it would get rid of all these feelings that I've been having. These feelings that have been slowly taking over my mind. These feelings that have been corrupting my concentration. These feelings for Chad Danforth that I'm not supposed to feel."_

"Taylor...yoo-hoo..."

"What?" Her attention returned to the room and she found Chad's fingers snapping in front of her face.

"Why do you keep spacing out?"

"I-I don't know. This really isn't like me. I'm usually so focused." She turned to look at Chad, who returned to his conversation with Jason. Apparently, she was too boring for him. It's not like she cared...or yet again did she?

_"This is a complete mess. My mind is a complete mess. I'm not supposed to like Chad Danforth. He's too into himself. He's a jock."_

_"Yeah he is but he's kinda nice. I mean, didn't he just ask me a couple questions about what was wrong with me? And didn't he offer to take care of Corbin for the day?"_

_"And then dump him back on me! He only cares for himself and no one else."_

_"But he forgot. He did take him back and offer to retrieve your book from the library."_

_"But he was too nosy and read the cover. There was no need to read what was on my own personal belongs. Okay, the book does technically belong to the school, but that doesn't give him the right to go reading what was on the cover."_

_"He didn't mean to. And besides, who can ignore that childish gleam in his eyes?"_

_"Yeah, and the sparkle in his smile..."_

_"His bushy head of hair that you just wanna reach out and touch it..."_

_"And his gorgeous high cheek bones. Who can hate a guy who's as gorgeous as him? Plus he did offer to do me a favor."_

_"Wait, aren't you on the side against Chad?"_

_"I am? Well, who can be against someone as great as Chad Danforth?"_

_"You know what? You're right."_

"Hey Taylor? You there?"

"What?" Taylor's mind switched back to reality.

"You are sure spacing out a lot today. Are you sure that you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good," Mr. Levisk's voice came in, "I want to say that you guys are taking excellent care of your child. A lot better than I expected. Keep up the good work." He gave Corbin back to Taylor who passed him back to Chad.

"Okay students. Here comes the real test. The weekend. You have to make sure that you're doing the work evenly or else problems will arise. I hope you guys have plans on how you're dividing the weekends up. Now, just talk for a few minutes while...I..." He lost the class again at 'talk'. He turned around and sat at his desk, filling out a couple of papers for each pair of students.

"Hey Chad," Taylor hissed, trying to pull his attention away from his conversation with Jason. "Chad." No response. "Chad!" She put her hand on his shoulder and turned him around. He looked at her weird, but she didn't notice.

"Now with the weekend, I thought that we could each take a day. You'll take care of him tonight and I'll come over to your house to pick him up."

"Actually, we're gonna make this really easy. You," Chad placed Corbin in Taylor's hands, "can take care of him all weekend."

"But--"

"Wait, how about you take him for the rest of the three weeks? I really don't want to have this kid in my life anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean what do I mean?"

"I thought...I thought..." she got quieter, causing Chad to strain to hear her, "I thought that we were just starting to become friends."

"That's the problem. My life's completely changed. I'm not supposed to be friends with you. I'm not supposed to care about this project. I'm not supposed to like the fact that Troy's dating Gabriella and that he's into musicals. I'm not supposed to be seen with you. I'm not even supposed to even be talking to you. And you know why?!"

Tears were swelling up inside Taylor and starting to well in her eyes.

"It's all because of this class and because of this project and because of this baby! It's his fault that I got paired up with you. It's his fault that my life's completely upside down. It's his fault that I ever came in contact with you."

The tears were now slowly cascading down Taylor's cheeks. Tears. Emotions. Crying. The last time Taylor had cried was when she was 6 and Billy the bully shoved her in the sandbox, causing her knee to bleed. That was the first time that she saw blood and the first time that she learned that she had to stick up for herself. The next day, she had shoved the sand down Billy's shorts and that taught everyone that you shouldn't mess with her. And nobody ever has...until now, except he hurt her emotionally.

Carrying Corbin in her arms, she wiped away the tears hoping that nobody else saw them, collected her books, and walked to the front of the room. She took a deep breath, calming her voice down.

"Mr. Levisk, I feel really sick. Can I be excused?"

"Sure Taylor. Here's a pass." Mr. Levisk handed her a green piece of paper without looking up at her so he didn't notice the new tears that we collecting in the corner of her eyes.

"Thank you." Her voice was shaky; the tears were overflowing from the corners of her eyes and slowly traveling down her cheeks. She wiped them away quickly and rushed out of the room.

Chad watched as she wiped the tears away with the sleeve of her shirt. But he couldn't help but feel that he was responsible for all of this. He didn't mean to burst out like that and he didn't mean to hurt Taylor...why? He would never know, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"Chad, what have you gotten yourself into?"

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How is Chad going to fix this? And will Taylor forgive him? Let's just say that love can make people do something that they thought they never would. Please Review!

With much love,  
Kat


	9. Just A Little Help

Okay, I know I haven't updated in a while. I had a hard time figuring out how another chapter of my other story should go, but that shouldn't be an excuse. You are allowed to hate me if you do.

About this chapter: Chad hurts Taylor, emotionally, telling her that he didn't want anything to do with her when in fact that was the farest thing from the truth. Plus, officially find out how Taylor recieves her punishments.

* * *

_Quickie recap!  
Chad watched as she wiped the tears away with the sleeve of her shirt. But he couldn't help but feel that he was responsible for all of this. He didn't mean to burst out like that and he didn't mean to hurt Taylor...why? He would never know, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings._

_"Chad, what have you gotten yourself into?"_

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

Chad wondered into the library, hoping to find Taylor in there. No luck. He didn't know where else to look. He took a seat by the window, letting out a sigh and burying his head in his hands. He looked up in time to see Gabriella by the reception desk, checking out a large book, something that looked like he couldn't even pick up nonetheless read it. Getting up, he rushed over to her, hoping to find a solution to the dilemma he was currently in.

"Gabriella!"

Ms. Fallstaff hushed Chad as Gabriella turned around, holding the book close to her chest.

"Chad? What are you doing in here?" Gabriella cocked her head in confusion.

"Don't ask. I've just gotta talk to you...now. And not in here." Chad pushed Gabriella gently out of the library into the hallway. "Not here either. I don't want people to see." Taking her hand, he guided her outside to the metal bleachers by the football field.

"Chad!" Gabriella pulled her hand away, "What are you doing taking me to a place like this? I already have a boyfriend you know. He's your best friend, Troy!"

"This isn't about that, Gabriella. And I know that you're Troy's girlfriend. Why would I be interested in you?"

"I don't know. And if it isn't for that, then why did you drag me out here?"

"I need help."

"That really narrows things down." Gabriella leaned on the metal fence next to her.

"Okay, listen. You saw how Taylor left Health class early today, right?" Gabriella nodded. "Well, that was my fault," Chad stated, looking down at his feet.

Gabriella slapped his arm. "What?! What did you do to my best friend?"

"Oww...who knew that you could hit pretty hard?" Chad rubbed his arm. "What I did is not the problem... the problem is how do I apologize to her."

"Developing a soft side for my friend, are you now?" Gabriella smirked.

"No...it's just that I feel guilty for making her cry."

"You made her cry too?!" Gabriella punched his arm this time. "How could you?"

"Stop hitting me! It hurts!" Chad rubbed his arm again, wondering how Gabriella learned to punch.

"Well, you hurt my friend. Now you are getting payment."

"Just stop and listen to me for a bit. The only reason I told Taylor off was because I was tired of how my life has changed. I wanted things to return to normal...before this whole project. I thought that if I got rid of the kid, my life would return to normal."

Gabriella punched him again.

"Owww...what did I do this time?"

"You told Taylor off for a stupid reason...plus it was getting fun." Gabriella giggled to herself.

"Okay, I think I'm getting the picture." Chad rubbed his upper arm. "Just help me gain her friendship back...and stop punching me. It really hurts."

"Alright. I'll help you win Taylor back...whether or not you deserve it. And for the second one..." she punched him once more, "Now I'll stop. I just had to get the last one out of my system."

Chad stepped away from her for just to make sure that she wouldn't. "Where did you learn to punch like that?"

"Troy."

"Why did you want to learn to punch?"

"Actually, Troy wanted me to be able to defend myself, just in case someone decided to push up on me...which included his best friend."

"Okay, so is the punching out of your system?"

"I did say it was, didn't I?"

Chad took another step away from her for precaution. Gabriella laughed and walked over to Chad, pushing him out from underneath the bleachers.

"Okay, here's what you do..."

--------------------------------------

Taylor rushed home, balancing all her books and school supplies in her hands. She wanted to get home as soon as she could. She didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment, it's not like she could. Gabriella was too busy with Troy and right now, her mom was at work.

Taylor dumped everything on the porch and dug in her pocket for her house key. Pulling it out, she inserted it into the keyhole and pushed it door open. She picked up her stuff and walked into the house.

"So Tay how was your day?"

Taylor looked into the office to find that her dad was on the computer. He obviously got home early from work today at that Tech. Lab. She took a deep breath before saying anything, trying to push away the recent events of the day that she didn't want to relive.

"Nothing much. Just school work. You know the usual."

"Really dedicating yourself to your schoolwork, right?" He got up and walked over to her, placing a caring hand on her shoulder, "Because committing yourself now leads to success later."

"Yeah dad I know. But right now, I'm feeling a little tired. I'm gonna go take a nap before hitting the books."

Her father's voice rose a little. "Well, you better make sure you study and do schoolwork. Just because it's the weekend doesn't mean that you can slack off. Remember, commitment now leads to success later."

"Yeah dad I know. I'll..." Her eyes met the glare that was in her father's eyes, a glare that she experienced every time that she didn't really feel like doing schoolwork, and she surrendered. "Alright, I'll be up in my room, working on my academics."

"Good idea. I better not catch you turning on the TV or radio. Distractions do not make good grades." He walked away into the kitchen.

"Great, now I'll be even more stressed out than I already was," Taylor mumbled under her breath.

"What did you say Tay? I didn't quite catch it."

"Nothing!" Taylor responded, trudging her way up the stair and into her room. She placed all her books and school supplies on the desk and plopped on the bed. She didn't really feel like doing her school work. What she felt like doing was crying and hiding from the world.

She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and knew that it was her father was coming up to check whether she was working or not. She scrambled off her bed and rushed over to her desk, quickly grabbing a notebook and opening it. She snatched a pencil from the holder just as her father opened the door.

"Tay, you working hard in here?" He stood at the door, leaning on the doorframe.

"Yup!" Taylor put on a fake smile and scribbled some nonsense in her notebook, trying to make it look like she was working. "Working on my math work right now!"

Mr. McKessie walked over to her desk and took the notebook from her hands, flipping through the pages. "Taylor, this isn't a math notebook, this is history. Are you lying to me? Were you slacking off?" He smacked her in the head with the notebook.

"I'm sorry dad, I was just really tired today."

"Why? What could have possibly made you so tired that you are willing to slack off your schoolwork?"

"You wouldn't understand." Taylor looked down, rhythmically tapping the desk with the eraser of her pencil.

Mr. McKessie sat on the bed, facing his daughter. He saw the dejected look in her eyes. It wasn't that he was heartless, he just wanted her to excel in school, have a good career in front of her, and have a good life already laid out. "Are you sure I won't?"

Taylor swung around in her chair and faced her father. "Dad, it's boy problems. You won't understand."

"Boys? What was this talk we had about boys a couple days ago?"

"I know, but this isn't what you think. I'm not interested in this boy...he's not even my friend," Taylor explained.

"Taylor, boys will only distract you. You should be focusing on your work and your grades. Boys are out of the question," her father said sternly. "Now, just get back to work." He kissed her forehead. "I'll be right downstairs if you need me."

"Alright dad I will." Taylor watched her father walk to the door.

"Remember...no boys, only schoolwork. Commitment now leads to..."

"...Success later. Dad I know. I'll get right on it." Taylor swiveled in her chair and returned to her history notebook, erasing the scribble that he had put on it. Mr. McKessie smiled, closing the door behind him as walked out. Taylor opened her textbook and started reading, her mind now set on her schoolwork. She was pushing it with her father today, she didn't want to anger him to the point where he...well, she didn't want to think about.

---------------------------------------

"Gabriella, are you sure this will work?" Chad asked. They were still sitting at the school bleachers and the day was growing late. Gabriella and Chad had been bickering on about how to apologize to Taylor. Chad objected to whatever Gabriella said and Gabriella defended herself, retorting that she was Taylor's best friend and she knew her best.

"Well, if you don't want my help Mr. Danforth, I'll be leaving then." Gabriella got up, but was pulled back down my Chad.

"I want your help, it's just that...I've never think that all this would be happening to me. I never had to apologize to anybody before. It's just that theirs this weird feeling coming from inside me."

"It would be caring. You care about Taylor, don't you?"

"I don't think so. I feel sorry that I told her off, that's all. It's not like I'm interested in her."

"Okay, just remember, I didn't say anything." Gabriella pulled out her cell phone from her purse. "Come on, let's go to the park. That's where I'm telling Taylor to meet me."

"Why the park?"

"She loves it there!"

Chad remains quiet the rest of the way there, being pulled along to the park by Gabriella.

--------------------------------

Taylor closed her math book, the last of her homework. Her dad had come up several times to check if she was doing it and quite frankly, she was starting to get annoyed. Her father was always on her case about school work ever since school started. She liked that he pushed her, but sometimes he went a little to far. Once when she was in 5th grade, she failed miserably on a math quiz. Her punishment: being hit against the knuckles with a bamboo stick. Where he got the stick from, she would never know, but she learned that he was only doing this to teach her. Soon, she started getting perfects on everything and the punishments ceased, but now, if she makes any little mistake, her father would hit her.

She got up and jumped on her bed again, closing her eyes. Again, her mind drifted back to Chad, well before he decided that she was the fault for why his life was going crazy. Suddenly, her cell phone rang. She pushed herself of the bed and went over to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tay! It's me Gabriella!"

Taylor sat back in her chair, tipping it slightly so it leaned on two of its four legs. "Gabi! What are you doing calling me? Aren't you doing something with Troy?"

"No, actually I wanted to know if you wanted to have a play date with our little kids. Just the two of just."

"I just thought that since you've been spending so much time with Troy recently that you would've rather had a date with him."

"I know that I've been spending a lot of time with Troy, but that's because Darbus wanted us to do something together. I'm sorry that I've kinda been distant. That's why I told Troy today was just going to be a girl's day. No boyfriends allowed."

"You seriously told him that?"

"Yup!" Gabriella answered quickly and plainly. "So are you in or not?"

"Yeah, I'm in."

"Great! Meet me in the park. I'll be waiting!"

"See you in a few!"

They both hung up. Taylor grabbed a baby carrier that her mom had kept for the longest time and placed Corbin in it. She rushed out the door, telling her dad that she was finished with her work and that she was going to be at the park with Gabriella.

--------------------------------

"So? What did she say?!" Chad asked anxiously.

"She's on her way." Gabriella smiled and opened the phone again and dialed a familiar number.

After three rings, the person on the other line picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey Troy. Listen, can you meet me in the park in about 10 minutes...?"

------------------------------------

Taylor arrived at the park, the sun low in the sky. It didn't matter to her that it was getting late, it only mattered that she was going to be able to talk to her friend again. She placed Corbin within viewing distance and went over to a swing, pushing it softly.

"Hey Tay! I'm sorry I'm late. Something held me back." Gabriella placed her child next to Taylor's and sat in the swing adjacent to Taylor's.

"That's okay. It's just great that we're finally going to be able to spend time together."

Gabriella looked at her watch. Troy would be arriving any minute and she had to keep talking.

"Hello Gabs...you still here?"

Taylor's voice pulled Gabriella out of her thoughts. "Yeah, I was just thinking about something."

"Same here."

They swung in silence for a little bit. Taylor cast a glance in Gabriella's direction every few seconds, only to see that she was looking off into the distance. Taylor stopped as a figure started moving toward them. "Oh no..." she muttered under her breath. "Gabs, I thought you said that it was just going to be us."

"I did? Something else must have been on my mind when I said that."

"You told me that you told Troy that today was just going to be us. You lied to me, didn't you?"

"Hey girls..." Troy said, rubbing his palms together as he approached them, "Gabi, are you ready to go?"

"Oh yeah! It must've completely slipped my mind about tonight. I must've planned something with Troy that forgot about. I'm sorry Taylor. How about tomorrow?"

"Gabriella, I don't even know you anymore. Just go with Troy."

Gabriella watched her friend walk away gloomily. It was hard to lie to her friend like that, but it was the only way to get her alone with Chad so he could apologize to her. She followed Troy as he escorted her away from the swings and behind a tree.

"Go now! Before she decides to leave!" Gabriella hissed at Chad. He was just standing there, watching.

"But--"

"Go! Now!" Gabriella, with some help from Troy, pushed Chad from behind the tree. Gabriella wanted to stay and watch what happened next, but Troy pulled her away.

"Let's go Gabi. You've done your part of the bargain. It's Chad's turn now."

------------------------------

Chad, after being shoved out from behind the tree, slowly made his way over to Taylor. He took a deep breath. After battling it out in his mind, he felt that it was a bad idea and turned around.

"Chad?" Taylor asked, looking up, "What are you doing here?"

* * *

Will Chad be brave and tell Taylor that he's sorry? Or will the big basketball star chicken out? Find out in the next chapter!

With much love,  
Kat


	10. Friends?

**So, with the help of Gabriella, Chad finally has the chance to apologize to Taylor. But there's one problem...he's afraid. Will Chad chicken out or will he be courageous enough and apologize?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical. If I did, do you think I would be doing this?**

* * *

"What else would I be doing here? The park's open to everybody you know," Chad retorted, casually sitting on the swing and trying to avoid the real reason he was here.

"Oh, I'm just about to leave anyway, so I'll be out of your way," Taylor answered quietly, picking up the baby carrier that Corbin was in.

"Taylor?" Chad said.

"Yeah?"

Chad opened his mouth to say 'I'm sorry' but his lips couldn't form the words. Taylor looked at him questionably for a second.

"Are you messing with my head Chad? Cause if you don't want me here, I'll leave," Taylor replied, turning to walk away.

"No, it's not that!" Chad yelled, hoping that she would turn around, which she did.

"Then what is it Chad? First you tell me off that you don't want me in your life, and now you want to talk to me? What is your problem?" Taylor retaliated.

Chad pushed the swing lightly, looking down at his feet. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry," he answered quietly, but it wasn't audible to Taylor.

"What?" Taylor walked over, placing the carrier by the swing, and sat in the swing next to Chad.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry," Chad answered, looking up at her. "I'm sorry that I told you off. I was just really stressed about everything. About how my life had changed so much. I thought that you and the project were to blame. And that was wrong..."

Taylor looked down warmly at him. _"There's the kind gentle side again. It's really great to see this side of him."_

"Can you forgive me?" he questioned, pure sorrow in his voice. He looked up at her, hopeful.

"Yeah, I forgive you," Taylor answered, smiling. "So, we're friends again?" Taylor held out her hand, to see if he really meant it.

"Yeah, we're friends again," Chad replied, taking her hand in his.

"So about the weekend?" Taylor asked, "How are we gonna divide this weekend up?"

"I dunno. What was your plan before I...you know."

"Well, I was thinking that we could each take him for a day. You know, and whoever had him on Sunday could bring him to school and hand him off to the other person," Taylor explained, pushing her swing a bit harder.

"Oh, I see, so we're switching off every morning, right?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought we could do. That is, unless you still want me to take him for the next three weeks and stay out of your life," Taylor said, in a slightly hurt tone, as if she was still afraid of him.

"No, no, I want to do my share. I'm probably enough of a pain for you to spend time with, there's no need to add more to that with the kid," Chad replied jokingly.

Taylor chuckled, her lips curling into a smile. "Chad, you're not that much of a pain...okay, maybe a little."

"Hey! That's mean!" Chad retorted, giving her a gentle shove on the shoulder.

"You're the one that said it," Taylor retorted, laughing.

"So, do you want me to take the kid for the rest of the night and tomorrow?"

"Nah. How about I finish off tonight and you come over tomorrow morning?"

"Sure, whatever works for you will work for me."

Taylor chuckled to herself, "You know what Chad? You're not what I expected you to be."

"What did you expect me to be?"

"You know, like most jocks. Self-centered, obsessed with cheerleaders, rude, and animal-like."

"Really?"

"But you're not like that. You're not like the other jocks."

"I'm full of surprises Taylor. There are more levels to me than you think."

"Yeah." Taylor simply answered. "Listen, it's getting late and I really should get home. My dad's gonna wonder where I really am."

The sun had set hours ago and the stars had fully revealed themselves against the velvet black sky. The trees were ominous black silhouettes in the dark and it was beginning to creep Taylor out.

"Yeah, I'd better get home too," Chad hopped off the swing, "Come on, I've gotta make sure my family gets home safely."

Taylor got off the swing, picked up the baby carrier, and run up behind Chad. "Thanks. So, you come to my house tomorrow then?"

"Sure."

They walked the rest of the way to Taylor's house in silence. Within a couple minutes, they had arrived at her front doorstep.

"I guess this is where we go our separate ways," Taylor stated, putting her hand on the door knob, "Thanks for escorting me home."

"No prob. What time do you want me to come over tomorrow?"

"Around 10 good for you?"

"Sure. I'll see you at 10 tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow." Taylor bent down and kissed Chad on the cheek, only to quickly stand back up straight and apologize. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," Taylor stammered.

"It's okay Taylor. I'll see you tomorrow." Chad turned and walked away, glad that it was dark out so no one could see that he was blushing madly. "Good night!" he called back, still walking.

"Good night Chad!" Taylor cried back.

Chad gave her a small wave to tell her that he heard her. Taylor blushed deeply, wondering why she did that, and opened the door, excited for the next day.

-------------------------

**The Next Day**

Taylor woke up to the sound of the alarm for the 5th time that morning, lazily turning over and shutting it off. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she made her way to the bathroom, only to hear laughter from downstairs. Wondering what it was about, she journeyed down the stairs in her night gown and walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Tay," her mother brightly said, standing by the stove, "Sleep in late this morning?"

"Yeah," Taylor yawned. She walked over the table, not noticing who else was at the table. The drowsiness obscuring her vision, she sat down in her seat, only to sit down on someone's lap.

"Good morning Taylor," a familiar voice called. She turned around and realized she had just sat down on Chad's lap!

"Is it that late?!" Taylor asked her mother.

"No, I'd thought that I'd stop by early and explain why you came home so late last night. It wasn't your fault that you were stuck with me for a lab partner, was it?" Chad replied, smiling cheekily.

"I guess it wasn't my fault that I was stuck with you," Taylor answered nervously, looking down at the green frilly night gown she was still wearing. "Can you excuse me for a minute?"

"Sure, it's your house," Chad answered, pulling a plate in front of him. Taylor's mother had invited him to stay for breakfast before he left and there was no way that Chad could say no to food.

Taylor ran upstairs, quickly grabbing a comb and running it through her hair with one hand while the other hand was brushing her teeth. Placing the comb down, she went into her closet and dug through all her clothes, looking for something to wear.

"Taylor," her father called, "Can I see you in my office?"

Taylor ventured into her father's office, knowing that what he wanted to talk to her about was not a good thing.

* * *

Yay! Chad didn't chicken out and now they're on friendship terms again. But what's in store for Taylor as she talks to her father? Find out in the next chatper!

Lotta love,  
Kat


	11. Tricks

_Previously: Chad and Taylor sorted everything out and are now on friend terms again. Things seem to be going well for them...but will it stay that way? What does Mr. McKessie want to talk to his daughter about? I don't think it's anything good._

**CHAPTER TEN**

The door creaked ominously behind her as she walked further into her father's office. Taylor looked at all the weaponry hanging on the wall. Her father had a steady collection of guns and hunting knives for the longest time now. Whenever he wasn't at work or standing behind Taylor to make sure she was working, he was in here, constantly polishing the weapons shiny until he could see his own reflection in them.

"Yeah dad?" Taylor called out quietly.

"Who's that?" her father stated from behind a rather large leather chair with his back turned to her.

"Who's who?"

"The boy. Downstairs."

"Oh, him. He's Chad Danforth," Taylor started explaining.

"What's he doing over here?"

"I invited him over," Taylor answered quietly.

"Why?" Her father had swiveled the chair around so that now he was facing her. In one hand was a worn cloth that he used for polishing all his equipment and the other was a short but sharp hunting knife. Taylor took a step back, afraid that she now angered her father.

"He's my partner for Health. We have to take care of a baby simulator to teach us something about teenage pregnancy. I didn't pick him to be my partner. Mr. Levisk assigned us together."

"So is that why he dropped you off extremely late last night and why he's over so early in the morning?" Her father had placed the knife down on the table and was ringing the cloth in his hands.

Taylor didn't know how to respond to this. What was she to say? How did her father know that she was with him last night and not Gabriella? Had he been watching her?

"What did I tell you about boys Taylor? That they were nothing but trouble for you. You need to be focusing on your grades." He stood up, pushing the chair back slightly until it hit the wall with a silent thump.

"Dad, it's not like I'm seeing him outside of school or anything. He's just my partner for a Health project, nothing more."

Mr. McKessie lashed out and grabbed his daughter by the wrist, the rings on his fingers digging into her skin. "You better not be seeing him," he threatened, his voice hoarse, "Because if you do, I'll have to pull you out of school and start with a private tutor. We do have enough money for that, Taylor, you know that we do."

Her eyes winced. One of her dad's diamond studded rings had cut her; she could feel a trickle of blood running from her right wrist. "Yes dad, I know that we could afford a tutor, but I don't want a private tutor. I'd rather go to East High. I'm not seeing him, he's just my project partner!"

Mr. McKessie let go of her daughter's wrist, picking up another blade from the wall and the cloth off the table. "You better keep it that way."

Taylor rubbed her right wrist in her left hand. The cut on her right wrist was small but big enough to leave a noticeable scab. "It will, I'm not interested in him. He's a basketball jock and I'm...me. Our worlds are never meant to cross."

"Now's that's something I want to hear," her father said quietly, polishing the blade that he held in his hand.

"Can I go now?" Taylor asked, still rubbing her wrist in her hand. Her father waved her off. She walked back into her room and pulled out a yellow polo and a pair of comfortable jeans, clipping her hair back quickly with a headband. She grabbed Corbin, who had been _sleeping_ soundly, and placed him in the baby carrier. She opened the door only to find Chad standing there, his hand raised as if he was about to knock.

"Hey, your mom said that I should check up on you to see what was goin' on."

"Oh hey. I was just on my way downstairs. I just had a talk with my dad really quick," she held out the carrier, "Here's Corbin. Sorry that it took me so long."

Chad took the carrier in his hands, clearing his throat in order to hide his nervousness. "Thanks."

"You could probably go now. You probably have huge plans that you gotta get to," Taylor started walking down the stairs, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Actually," Chad took a hold of Taylor's arm, "Are you doing anything today?"

"No, why?"

They had reached the bottom of the stairs and Chad let go of her arm.

"I was wondering. Did you wanna go do something today?" Chad said nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

Taylor's eyes narrowed, wondering what Chad Danforth had really been up to. "Like what?"

"I dunno. Stuff, whatever you want to do."

"Sure," she answered, continuing on her way into the kitchen, "But right now, I want to have breakfast."

"Great, now I can have seconds!" Chad replied hungrily.

Taylor chuckled to herself, thinking that Chad was only kidding, which he wasn't. She watched as he piled eggs, sausages, and bacon on his plate.

"Are you gonna eat all that?" she questioned, loading her own plate with eggs.

The answer she received was Chad mounding the food into his mouth. She watched as Chad ate, wait no, as he inhaled his second wave of breakfast. Slowly she spooned some of the eggs into her mouth and chewed with her mouth closed, quite the opposite of Chad.

-------------------

"What's the score?" Taylor asked, tossing the basketball to Chad.

"You've got 34 and I've got 42. You're not too far behind. Where did you learn to play like that?" Chad questioned, dribbling the ball and making a shot, which bounced off the rim.

"Not only do I exercise my mind, I find the time to go out and shoot some hoops too. Strong physically and mentally," Taylor responded.

He chuckled and took another shot. "Listen, about the other day...you still haven't really answered my question. About who you were writing about on the cover," Chad brought up.

"Oh that," Taylor replied, taking a seat on the bench that was next to the basketball court. She picked up Corbin and cradled him in her arms. "I'm telling you, it's really about nothing. You shouldn't worry about it."

"If it really isn't about anything, couldn't you tell me then?"

"Chad, I really wish I could tell you, but I can't. Besides, I'm not really sure that I like him like that yet. I was just thinking and subconsciously writing that stuff down."

Chad's eyes lit up at the sound of that. _"She might not even like him."_ He took a seat next to her. "Any chances of liking someone else more than this guy?"

"What?"

"Nothing. Nothing. I don't know what I was saying," Chad answered, getting up and dribbling the ball. _"Why did you do that? You don't even like her like that. She's just a friend. She'll only be a friend until this project is over."_

"Listen, I've gotta get back home and start on a progress report."

"For this project?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to help? I don't want you to do any part of this project alone."

"No, you don't need to help. It's not a required part of the project. I've just got the feeling that I should be doing something more with this than take care of a doll," she extended her right hand and picked up the baby carrier.

Chad noticed a pretty big scab forming on her right wrist. "Taylor, what did you do to get that huge scab? You're not a cutter, are you?" he kidded, shooting another basket.

Taylor quickly covered her wrist. "No, I'm not a cutter. It's nothing really."

"Taylor, why are you picking up the baby carrier? I'm supposed to be taking care of Corbin today," Chad pointed out.

"Sorry, I guess I'm used to taking care of him for a long time. Bad habit," Taylor chuckled.

"A bad habit formed by my fault," Chad apologized without saying 'sorry,' "I hope you have a good time working on the progress report."

"Meet you at your house tomorrow? Same time?"

"Actually, I think I should probably come over to your house and drop him off," Chad replied.

"Why?"

"It'll just be easier that way. Beside you don't even know where I live but I know where you do."

Taylor bit her lip. Her father didn't really want Chad to come over to her house and quite frankly, she didn't want him to either. Not for the reason that she didn't want him to, but the fact that her father would start getting suspicious that she was getting too close to him. But what could she say?

"Alright. I guess I'll see you at my house tomorrow morning at 10," Taylor stated after a minute or so of silence.

"Yeah, thanks Taylor for understanding." He took another shot, which missed.

"No problem. Can I just ask you one thing?"

"Yeah sure. What?"

"Don't come over early again."

"Why?"

"Just because. Don't ask."

"Alright, I won't ask. I'll be at your house promptly at 10."

"Thanks Chad. I'll see you tomorrow," Taylor said, walking backwards toward her house, waving Chad and Corbin good-bye.

"See you tomorrow too." Chad waved back.

"Make sure you take care of Corbin and don't let him cry," Taylor shouted back.

"Don't worry. I won't let him cry."

"Good. Bye!"

"Bye!"

Chad picked up the basketball and the baby carrier with Corbin in it and walked toward his home. He wondered why Taylor only wanted him to only come over at 10 and why she hesitated to answer. Then he started wondering why he was wondering these things. It's wasn't as if he liked _liked _Taylor. Like he said before, they were only friends and friends until the project was back to normal. But then his mind wanted to know if that's how he wanted things to be. Did he like Taylor in a way that he couldn't or wouldn't want to describe? Or was his mind just playing tricks on his heart?

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_Who gave Taylor's dad the authority to step in between the growing affections of Taylor and Chad? Will this one conversation cause tension between the two? Or possibly drive them close together? I guess you'll have to review and then find out in the next chapter!_

Lotta love,  
Kat


	12. Failing A Test

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the delayed update, but I needed to get my thoughts together. Here's the next chapter!

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**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

Taylor sat in homeroom, cuddling her little child in her arms, rocking him back and forth. She looked up and saw Chad walking in the room with Troy and Gabriella, who had her child in her hands.

Gabriella looked happy as she normally ever did, even more that she was with Troy now, but there was just something about the relationship that didn't please Taylor. Maybe it was the fact that Troy was a jock and Gabriella was still one of the brainiacs, but still Gabriella did look full of bliss.

Gabriella separated herself from the group - not before stealing a kiss from Troy's lips (which made Taylor want to gag) - and walked over to Taylor. She snatched the desk in front of Taylor and situated herself. "Tay, about the other night. I'm so sorry that I blew you off, but I had to in order..."

"It's alright Gabriella," Taylor interrupted, sincerely meaning it, "You had to do it. Chad told me everything. And thank you. I'm sorry if I've been so," she couldn't find the word to describe it, "so...I dunno, but I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Gabriella replied, her smile even brighter, "So we're on good terms again?"

"Yeah, definitely. If it weren't for you, Chad and I wouldn't have solved all our problems."

"Soooo..." Gabriella sang, nudging her friend with her elbow, "Is there anything between you and Chad? You know. Are there any sparks?"

Taylor blushed, looking down at the child in her hands, hoping that Gabriella wouldn't notice.

But she did. "Ohhh...come on Tay. Spill!" Gabriella urged, her hair bouncing on her shoulders.

Taylor composed herself before looking up at Gabriella again. "If you mean anything like between you and Troy, no. We just put aside our differences for the project. We decided that once this project was over that things will go back to normal between us. Our worlds weren't supposed to meet and they should never meet," she answered, hinting at Troy and Gabriella's relationship.

Gabriella's sunshiny mood fell into a cloudy one. "This is still about me dating Troy? Tay, we don't need to stick to our cliques anymore. Maybe if you tried dating someone, you'd see. I know! How 'bout we go on a double-date. Me and Troy and you and Chad!"

Taylor looked over at Chad, who was talking to Troy at the moment. Something inside her wanted to accept Gabriella's invitation, but another part of her wanted to gag at the thought. She never wanted to date Chad Danforth, no matter how much he changed, no matter how much Gabriella had said that she should, no matter how much she strangely wanted to. "Gabi, that's a ridiculous idea. Me and Chad, I don't think so."

"Taylor, don't be so closed-minded. You never know if you don't try."

"Gabriella, this is one thing that I do _know_," Taylor answered, trying her hardest to convince Gabriella and herself. "So, are you on for today after school today? We're meeting in the chem. lab this afternoon today for the club to make up for last week's missed meeting," she suggested, leaving out the part where it was her fault that the meeting was missed.

"Sure," Gabriella answered, noting Ms. Darbus's entrance into the room. "I've got nothing to do today. Plus Troy's got practice after school today."

Taylor smiled, seeing that she was going to spend some time with her friend today. She quickly wiped the smile off as Chad walked over to her seat. Sure they were friends, but he was still a jock. A really cute jock that she didn't want really anything to do with.

Chad sat on the top of Taylor's desk. "So, how was our little kid? Not much of a problem for you, was he? Not as much as I normally am, right?"

Even Taylor couldn't help but laugh at his jokes and his sense of humor. "No, he wasn't as much of a problem. Here you go," she handed Corbin over to Chad, also handing him the bag with the rest of his things, "Our little baby."

Chad took him in his hands, rocking him from side to side gently. It was odd how just the sight of this still amazed Taylor.

"You know, sometimes I think that you're taking the project just a little too seriously," Taylor pointed out, seeing how Chad cooed at the doll.

"Well, I just want us to get a good grade. I know how much your grades mean to you," Chad answered. He got off Taylor's desk and settled into his own.

_"I know how much your grades mean to you."_ That phrase resounded in her head. What else could he do to astound her? So she was the reason that he was putting more effort in it? Or was it the fact that he needed a good grade in the class? _"Oh please let it be the first one,"_ she pleaded inside her mind. _"Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Gabriella's right. I probably shouldn't be too closed-minded."_

Ms. Darbus stood at her desk and cleared her throat, reading off the announcements, but Taylor didn't hear any of them. She was too busy thinking about a certain bushy-haired jock.

Her thoughts drifted back to him and the entirely different side of her that he had shown her, but something in the back of her mind told her something different. "No, we promised each other," she told herself quietly under her breath, "but what is there not to love about him?"

Strangely, Chad could feel that something was watching him. He turned around and saw that it was Taylor. He flashed her a smile before turning his attention back to the front of the room.

"His smile, his fun-loving personality, his eyes that are warm and inviting...how can I deny these feelings?" Taylor whispered, "But I'm supposed to. I can't...we promised. And if my father ever got a word that I liked a boy, I would definitely be in trouble."

Taylor leaned back on her chair, trying to push away thoughts of Chad that she wanted to think about. They could only be friends...nothing more...no matter how much she wanted it to be more.

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Walking into her Lit. class, weirdly feeling that she had forgotten something. Something important. Something that her father wouldn't be happy to find out about. It wasn't until she sat down at her desk that she realized what it was.

She didn't have her Lit. book. She didn't read the section of the Odyssey that Ms. Owen had assigned to the class.

Yeah, her father wouldn't have liked to hear that she forgot a homework assignment.

The bell rang and Ms. Owen walked into the room, once again slamming her mug on the desk. "Students, clear your desk. We're gonna have a pop quiz on what you had to read over the weekend," she declared over the shuffling of papers under desks as she passed out the papers.

Taylor bit her lip and cleared her books from the top of her desk. She didn't really read any part of the section they were assigned. She was afraid that she was going to bomb the quiz and that her father was gonna find out and she was going to receive something that she had avoided for so long now.

Ms. Owen placed the paper on her desk. Taylor stared at it. Multiple choice. It made her feel just a little bit better. At least there was a one-fourth chance that she was going to answer the question correctly.

Hey, one-fourth of a chance was better than no chance, wasn't it.

She picked up her pencil and tried her best to answer the questions on her test, taking a stab at all the questions.

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The bell rang and the class picked up their books, heading out of the room to their next class. Taylor watched as Ms. Owen entered the grades into the computer. She could tell that she failed, she knew that she failed. And that tonight when her father looked up her grades on Letter Grade, he would see that she failed and then it was time for her punishment.

"Taylor, can I see you for a brief moment?" Ms. Owen called from her desk.

Taylor found her feet and walked over to Ms. Owen, her hands shaking as she held onto her books.

"Taylor, what happened to you? You only got two out of the fifteen questions correct on the quiz today. Did you even read this weekend?"

"To tell you the truth Ms. Owen, I didn't. I don't know how it slipped my mind, but it did."

"Well, I'm disappointed in you. But the good thing is that your GPA is so high that this one little slip won't really affect it. But please, just make sure you read tonight's assignment."

"Will do Ms. Owen," Taylor answered, letting out a thankful sigh. She walked out off the room, heading straight to her locker to find her book.

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"It's not in here!" she screamed, frantically searching through her locker for her book. She pulled out every book and dumped it on the floor, causing the books to pile up at her feet. "It's not in here! I lost it again!" She leaned against her locker, sliding down to the floor.

"Lost what again?" Gabriella asked, this time alone and babyless. Troy had taken their child and headed off to lunch.

"My Lit. book. I've lost it again, but this time I know it isn't in the library this time."

"Well, are you coming to lunch?"

"Not until I find my book. I can't afford to fail another test."

"You failed a test?!"

"Yeah, all because I forgot my Lit. book and forgot about my assignment."

"Well, I'll be right back. I'm just gonna grab something from the cafeteria and come back to help you."

"Okay. And thanks Gabi," Taylor said, watching her friend sprint down the hallway. She picked up all the books scattered around her and looked at their covers. None of them were the one that she was looking for.

"I think I can help."

Taylor looked up and saw that it was Chad with Corbin in his hands. "What are you doing here?"

"Telling you that I can help. What else?"

"You know where it is?"

"Yeah. Come on." Chad motioned her to follow him down the hallway.

"Wait, I've gotta pick up all my books first. Don't wanna get in trouble for leaving my locker a mess."

"You shouldn't worry. I'm the one with a messy locker. You should see it." He walked over and helped her gather her books, handing them to her as she placed them in her locker. Once they were finished, Chad motioned her down the hallway again. "Come on."

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That pesky Lit. book seems to be the thing that brings her and Chad together (and the baby too). Where is it and how does Chad know where it is? What happens when her father finds out? Will Taylor ever let go of the thought that she or Gabriella can't date a jock? That's a lot of questions. Find out in the next chapter!

Lotta love,  
Kat


	13. Another Moment

Ello all!

I'm sorry for the delay in the update. I had hoped to update after I came back, but 1) I hadn't written a chapter over vacation and 2) School started. That will be the main reason that I won't be able to update so frequently. School really consumes my time.

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

Gabriella, with a pudding snack in her hands, ran back to Taylor's locker. Only to find that Taylor wasn't there...and her books were cleaned up.

"Did something happen that I don't know about?" she called aloud to no one in particular. She scanned the premises once more and when she was positive that Taylor wasn't around, she skipped off back down the hallway to the cafeteria.

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Following Chad down the hallway, Taylor looked at the hand that was grasped around her wrist. Chad, after helping her clean her books, took her hand and motioned her down the hallway.

"You seem to lose this book a lot, don't you?" he asked, smiling.

"Yeah, it's because I lost it that I failed my English quiz," Taylor answered, "And then my father's gonna find out and then..." Taylor stopped herself before saying too much.

"Your dad? Was he at home that one day? I didn't see him," Chad took a turn to a hallway.

Debating whether to tell him the truth or not, Taylor remained silent. _"Should I tell him? Part of me wants to tell him, a part of me wants to trust him, but how do I know I can? What would happen if I do? It would probably be across the school in just a matter of minutes."_

Chad, though mildly selfish and slightly arrogant, had noticed Taylor's sudden silence. _"She's been doing this a how lot, getting quiet so fast. I wonder what's wrong."_ He continued leading her down the hallway, stopping in front of a room.

"What are we doing here in front of the Home Ec. Room? I don't have this class this semester so how could it be in there?" Taylor asked.

"You don't, but I do," Chad answered, opening the door. He took her by the hand and led her to the back of the room. Letting go of her hand, Chad bent down and searched through a very messy pile of papers, books, and bubble gum wrappers. After tossing everything in the pile aside, he pulled out a textbook, Taylor's textbook to be exact.

"Where'd you find it?!" she questioned, taking the book in her hands.

"In health class. You left it there on Friday when you left. I guess I kinda felt so bad about making saying what I said to you, I felt that I should at least make it up to you by giving you this back," Chad explained, not looking up at her.

"Really Chad?"

"Yeah, but now it's my fault that you failed the test. I'm really sorry Taylor, about everything that I've done for you the past few days," he answered, still not daring to look up at her. "It's okay if you hate me forever." Chad started walking out toward the door of the room, but was stopped by Taylor.

"It's okay Chad. I mean, it's only one test. Everyone's bound to fail at one point. No one can be perfect one hundred percent of the time," Taylor pulled him down into the seat beside her, "Plus I think it was really nice of you to take care of my book...or at least attempt to."

"Hey!" he started, but he stopped when he realized she had a point. "You're right."

Taylor looked at the time, noting that it was getting late. "We better get to our next class. Don't wanna be late for my next class."

"You're right. I definitely need to get to the library to work on my Social Studies stuff...or actually get started to work on my project."

"You've got a project you need to work on? Need any help?" Taylor asked, holding the door open as he followed her out.

"Nah...actually, yeah. I don't have anything yet. It's just so hard for me to remember who invented what and what that invention did."

"I can help you," Taylor told him as they met the turn in the hallway.

"Really?"

"Yeah. When and where?"

"Can you get out next period?"

"I'll try and convince my teacher, but I think we have a quiz today. I always finish with so much time left, so yeah, I can probably get out next period."

"Cool. If you can, meet me in the library. 'kay?"

"Sure. I'll try to get out."

Chad and Taylor arrived at the end of the hallway and took a turn toward Taylor's locker. When she arrived at her locker, Taylor noticed that Chad was still behind her.

"You know you didn't have to escort me to my locker. I think I could safely take my book back into my own locker," Taylor said, twirling in her locker combination and gathering her books.

Chad blushed. "Yeah, I know that. I just - ah - I'm gonna go now. I hope to meet you in the library later."

Taylor watched as Chad walked down the hallway, holding her books close to her chest. "I hope to see you there too," she whispered quietly to herself.

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Chad looked behind his shoulder, noticing the smile that crawled on her face. Ducking into a hallway, he peeked out and watched as she pulled more books out of her locker and piled them into her arms. With a quiet slam, she closed her locker and continued down the hallway.

"Hey Chad!"

With a scream, Chad turned around and was face to face with his best friend. "Troy! What are you doing here?" he questioned, holding his hand to his speeding heart.

"Going to math class," Troy answered, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the library?"

"I'm on my way there. I just had to do something," Chad replied. He nervously put his hand behind his head, trying to steady the shakiness in his voice.

"Okay..." Troy responded in an odd tone of voice, "I guess I'll catch you later then. We're still on for our one on one game today, right?"

"You're not hanging out with Gabriella after school today?"

"No. She's off doing her own thing with Taylor after school today. Plus our practice is cancelled today. My dad's got something to do after school today. I suspect that I might be getting a baby brother or sister soon."

"Seriously?"

"I dunno for sure, but whenever me and Gabi go out, my parent's go out too. Some nights on the weekend, they don't even come home until noon the next day."

"Let's just hope that it's a brother. At least with a brother, you can teach him to play basketball and other sports."

"Yeah, I hope so too."

The warning bell rang and students started to file past Troy and Chad, pushing and shoving to make it to their class across the school. The boys dove to the wall for safety from the wave of students.

"I guess I better get to the library," Chad said, rather shouted, over the volume of the mass of teenagers.

"See ya after school today in the gym?"

"Yeah. I'll see you!"

With the last affirmation, Troy and Chad walked their separate ways. Being pushed forward, Troy accidentally bumped into Taylor, reaching up into her locker.

"Watch where you're going!" she shouted as her books fell on the floor.

"I'm so sorry," Troy answered, not noticing who it was. He bent down and helped pick up her books, hearing her mumble something under her breath. When he stood up, it was then that he saw that it was Taylor who he was knocked into. "Hey Taylor. This is your locker?"

"Obviously. Why else would I be getting my books out of this locker?" she answered coldly.

Sensing the chill in her voice, Troy backed off a little. "So, you're not late to class, are you?"

"No. If you must know, I'm heading to the library," she pulled out a blank notebook and closed the locker. She walked down the hallway without saying another word to Troy, her heels clicking with every step that she took.

"I guess Gabriella was really telling the truth. Taylor does have a thing against me. But is that true about Chad? Does he have something against the group Gabi came from? And why would he be standing in that hallway? There's no reason why he should be here."

The sound of Taylor's heels clicking resounded down the hallway.

"That was...until now." Troy looked down the hallway and saw Taylor's ponytail sway with every step that she took. When she took a turn in the hallway, Troy remembered that he had to head to math class and dashed down the hallway to his class.

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"So all you need to remember is that Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, which helped enormously in the textile industry," Taylor explained, pointing to his picture in a book they had pulled off the shelf. She looked at her wristwatch, seeing how late the hour had gotten.

"Oh, okay," Chad answered, nodding.

"Listen, I've gotta go. The bell is gonna ring soon. And I don't wanna be late for my next class."

"Yeah, I understand. I think I've gotta enough work for my project."

"You sure? I mean I could always stop by after school and help you."

The bell rung and the other students in the library started heading out. Taylor started out, seeing that she was going to have to head across the school to gather everything that she needed. She looked back to see Chad gathering his books, wanting to turn back and help him. But something in the back of her mind told her not to and that she should've never offered to help him in the first place. She faced forward and continued walking out.

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Taylor opened the door to her house and cautiously walked into her home. She looked around, checking to make sure that she wasn't really making too much noise.

"Taylor!"

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Remember that since I have school, I won't be able to update as frequently as I use to be able to. After this story is finished, keep an eye out for a new Troyella by me. I already have another idea to start it on. Check out my profile for a full explanation.

Also, I want to stay that I'm so proud of how Vanessa is acting in the current situation she is in. If you don't know, somehow a nude picture of her is circulating around on the internet (most likely by an ex). At first people thought that they were taken and sent to Zac (which is false) but now people are making up outrageous rumors that she took them to send to Drake Bell (which is crazy that they would think that) because if you have seen the picture (not that I'm expecting you too), she doesn't look like she does now. It looks like it was around the time that she did Thunderbirds when it was taken, that was also around the time she appeared in Drake and Josh.

I just think that it's sad that the picture got out. Even if it was a bad decision, the pictures were taken in private and never meant to be made public. I'm very proud that Vanessa is facing the public and taking the consequences for her actions instead of hiding from the public. This little thing will not take away any respect that I have for Vanessa, in fact I just admire her even more for having the courage to still appear in the public.

Sorry for rambling, but I would like to say that everyone just needs to forget about this whole thing and let it blow over. But as I'm talking about this, can I point out something? Since people originally thought that Vanessa sent them to Zac, it must mean that a ton of people are Zanessa. Just thought that I'd inject a ray of light in a bleak situation.

Lotta love,  
Kat


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